How to put on Lipstick

Applying Lipstick the Right Way

Step-by-Step Guide on How to put on Lipstick

Applying lipstick before heading out to dinner or a night on the town can greatly increase your overall look and give yourself a striking appearance that will have heads turning to gaze at your luscious lips. Knowing how to put on lipstick is an art form, and if not done properly can cause a makeup disaster! Follow the steps, tips and tricks below on how to apply lipstick properly and show off your fabulous lips proudly.

How to put on Lipstick

Steps, Tips and Tricks

The first thing you need to do is become familiar with your lips. Are they plump and full? Wide and skinny? Different types of lips will work differently with certain types of shades and colours of lipstick, so you need to understand what your lips will look good in. Your skin tone is also important when deciding on a lipstick colour: Pale skinned women should try light, glossy colours like baby pinks and reds, medium-skinned women should use a mute colour, like pinks or even a brown shade, and for dark skinned women, try using golden browns, cherry reds or even nude pinks. Colour matches vary though, so find a shade that works for you and makes you feel comfortable and beautiful.

Don’t overdo it. When applying makeup, you should pick one facial feature to accentuate, whether that is your eyes or lips. Women who wear lipstick and heavy eye makeup end up looking like a clown. If you are wearing a bold lipstick, keep the rest of your makeup light.

Exfoliate your lips. This may sound like a weird tip, but it will help to remove any dead skin on your lips, and allow for a flat surface for the lipstick to be applied on to, creating an even, smooth colouring. Scrub you lips gently with your toothbrush when brushing your teeth, or you can make a paste of sugar and water and then rub in on to your lips for roughly 20 seconds. Rinse your lips and apply a coat of Vaseline, before wiping off after a couple of minutes.

Apply lipliner. Lipliner is important as it gives the lipstick something to stick to and allows for proper blending. For those who have small or thin lips, lipliner also creates the illusion of plump, full lips. Lipstick will also last longer if you apply lipliner first. You should use a lipliner that is two shades darker than the lipstick you are going to apply. Outline your lips with the lipliner, starting from the outside and drawing the line into the centre. You can also colour a little outside of your lip line to give the impression of plump lips. Lipliner can also be used as a base, by colouring in all of your lips. Just make sure that the outline of your lip is distinct.

Apply a lip stain to your lips. A lip stain will help to accentuate the lips with a ruby-tinted shade. this will help smooth out your lips, and is great for applying red lipstick, as it will help keep the colour on your lips for hours. To apply the stain, spread it on your bottom lip, then press your lips together, and wait at least ten seconds for the stain to set before applying your coat of lipstick.

To stop lipstick from bleeding or running, creating annoying lines and wrinkles around your mouth, dip a cotton swab or bud into some transclucent powder and apply it to your lips before you apply your coat of lipstick. this will give the lipstick something to stick to, and stop it from spreading.

Apply your lipstick. There is much debate as to how to put on lipstick, whether it works better using a lip brush, your finger or just applying it straight from the lipstick tube. Really, it is whatever works best for you, so long as the colour ends up on your lips within the lipliner outline.

If you need to test out the colour of your lipstick, don’t apply it directly to your lips. Instead test it on the back of your hand or tip of your finger to see if it matches well with your skin tone.

Blot your lips on the back of your hand or with a tissue. Re-apply another coat of lipstick if desired, and finish off the look with a dab of lip gloss in the middle of your lip to add shine and dimension.

If you have a bad lipstick colour that you never use, don’t throw it out. You can blend lipsticks together to make a better, more suitable colour. Or alternatively, a dark coloured lipstick can be used as a base coat to dull a really bright lipstick colour.

To stop a line of lipstick appearing on your glass when you are out, lick your lips before taking a sip.

A small amount of lipstick can be rubbed into your cheekbones as a blush.

For older women, you need to keep in mind that as we age, our lips will lose their 'plumpiness' and become thinner. you want to make your lips look light, so you should avoid matte and gloss, and stick with a creamy lipstick. Also avoid dark coloured lipsticks.

Avoid orange and coral coloured lipsticks. They tend to make teeth appear yellow, and can only be pulled off by a few people.

If you have yellowish teeth, try a lipstick with bluish tones to downplay the off colour of your teeth. These include lipstick shades with plum, pink or violent hues.

When your lipstick tube is empty, scrape out the last remnants and mix it with Vaseline or lip-gloss. This will create a coloured lip-gloss that you can then use to continue enjoying your favourite lipstick colour.

So now that you know all the steps, tips and tricks on how to put on lipstick properly, nothing is stopping you from rocking a gorgeous set of lips the next time you are going out!